Motor stopped working, few days later worked for a few sweeps then stopped, It thought loose connection with tailgate up and down but did it once with TG not in use, I dont have trim remover is there a way of exposing motor and removing trim without special tools

I used a plastic tyre lever and plenty of brute force. The best part to start at is one of the corners that would be nearest the tail lights. It feels like it's going to break but seem pretty resilient.

I used a wiper arm puller as the arm seemed welded onto the spline. 

Mine was pretty rusted inside the gear assembly due to blocked washer jet allowing fluid to run into the gears. A bit of cleaning and it's back working.

Also the trim went back without too much trouble.

I swapped mine out on my hatchback a few months back, there trim comes off fairly easily - googling it brought up plenty of info. Maybe get a few trim clips before you start though, they do bend out of shape and break quite easily.

 

Most difficult bit seemed to be getting the wiper arm off, eventually I used a small 3 leg puller with the nut upside down a few threads on.

 

Also the motor doesn't operate with the boot open, that caused a small amount of confusion when I was testing before reassembly!

Open it up, itll be rusty and need a clean.  Mine worked fine after this.

Rust is most unlikely on the OP's Estate wiper motor as washer fluid does not go through the wiper motor.

The problem with my estate wiper motor was the commutator brushes sticking in their holders. Slightly sanding down the sides of the brushes fixed it.

Edited 4 February, 20242 yr by pikpilot
spelling corrected

Note that rear wiper and washer only works when tailgate is closed.

Isn't there a little microswitch which is activated when the boot is closed? If so, couldn't you "fool" the car into thanking that the boot is closed if you hold the switch in the "Boot closed" position? I'd go and have a look on mine, but I'm in the garage waiting for an MOT test on my Dads Ibiza FR.

Im told its dodgy getting wiper arm off and easy to break rear screen ?

12 hours ago, Petescim said:

Im told its dodgy getting wiper arm off and easy to break rear screen ?

Flip open the plastic cover, remove the retaining nut (13mm spanner or socket iirc), the arm is alloy and pushed onto a splined shaft. Good chance its corroded and stuck fast. Try applying a dose of penetrating oil to start off with let it soak an hour or so. If a little jiggling wont shift it then youll need a puller to get it off.